Deimos
by FierySorrow
Summary: The canon story, told from a different perspective NL&LL. Starts from OOTP, will continue on to the next books, and will focus on the DA ie their training and battles. May stray a little from the canon occasionally. Weekly Updates.
1. Beginnings

**Deimos** **- Chapter 1**

**Beginnings:**

The journey to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the Hogwarts Express was one Neville looked forward to. In fact, not just the journey, but the idea of a whole year spent with his friends learning new magic simply delighted him. So when Neville woke up this morning, it took only the time for him to collect his wits to send him bumbling for his trunk. Of course, gran had made him pack days ago, insisting that, as forgetful as he was, he was likely to forget his wand behind unless he packed early.

He took a deep breath, and carefully checked each item against the list his grandmother had forced him to write, making sure that everything was packed neatly. He gently closed and locked his trunk, then slowly dragged it towards the kitchen. As he turned the corners of the ancient mansion, he made sure there was plenty of space, nervously looking out for any relics, items or possessions of his forefathers. He didn't even want to think how angry she would be if he ruined one. She was scary when she was angry, and he had never liked shouting or screaming. That's why he was fond of plants and trees. He wondered what sort of plant she would have been if she had been a tree. Probably a Tanzanean Fire-Cherry Tree. He smiled to himself. Proud, tall and utterly fierce, but beautiful in her own compelling way.

Neville quickly thought of his recently acquired _Mimbulus_ _mimbletonia_. Even now, the idea of receiving such a rare specimen from his uncle for his birthday made his face glow with delight. A _mimbletonia_! For him!

However, during this short moment of elation, Neville suddenly found that his legs suddenly decided to misbehave. He could have sworn that they sometimes played games with him.

Drawing a deep breath, he braced himself, and fell, not gracefully, but practice over the years meant he landed safely. He wasn't worried about injuring himself. His grandmother was always more than ready to mend his cuts and bruises with a swift flick of her wand. What made him groan with fear was the edge of his trunk clipping the edge of his great, great, great grandfather's sword, resting against the full plate mail armour. He watched in dismay as the helmet toppled down to the polished wooden floor. The deafening din made him wince, even though he'd expected it.

He braced himself.

"NEVILLE! IF YOU'VE BROKEN ANYTHING, I'LL SWITCH YOU RED!" Oh, yes, she was frightening. "For HEAVEN'S sake, boy, will you EVER learn to walk?" He winced again.

"No, gran, its fine, it's only the helmet, I'll fix it right up," he called back anxiously.

"_ONLY_ THE HELMET? Good _grief_, boy, you're going to be late, and likely to do more harm then good setting it back. Come to the kitchen so you can have breakfast, and I can get rid of you that much faster. Honestly, you're a menace to anything inanimate," she rasped back then subsided to her usual grumblings.

Neville picked himself up, set the helmet at the feet of the suit of armour then once again made his way to the kitchen. He peered through the great windows, and saw it was still raining. He sighed, partially from a nervous fear that this much rain might flood out the seeds and tiny plants he'd sown over the break, despite his care in making trenches for excess water to flow away in, and partially from tiredness of seeing the same dull grey whenever he looked outside. Every time he looked, rain was spiking down like the drumming of an army, hammering in sheets across the flags which held his family's crown of arms, running rivulets through the arches overhead. Oh his grandma was proud of their name, Longbottom, and insisted the flags be raised everyday. _Fortitudo_ _Audentia_ was the motto inscribed on their crest: moral courage.

"_Longbottom's righteous courage never fails, rain, hail, or shine,"_ gran said often.

He tried to live up to her expectations to an extent, but her expectations were very high, especially of late. _Voldemort_ _had returned? Why, Neville Longbottom, you'll do your parents and forefathers proud, you will._

He finally reached the kitchen, and the alluring smell of French toast hit him like an enchantment. He dropped his trunk and rushed to the table, beckoning one of the numerous house elves to serve him. Gran was busy reading the newspaper, but she muttered something about the fool boy burning himself.

She was right. He burnt his tongue and fingers shoving the freshly made slice into his mouth, and spat it out by reflex. His grandmother looked at him in disgust then went back to reading the newspaper. As long as he didn't damage the Longbottom name or one of the Longbottom possessions, she seemed to have given up with him. He waited patiently for the house elf to finish apologising then asked her to cool the bread. He wolfed down his favourite breakfast, alongside the cloudy apple juice his grandmother favoured.

"I'm ready, gran," he offered, then waited for her to put down her paper.

"Took you long enough, clumsy boy. Do you have everything?" she asked piercingly. At his nod, she looked at him dubiously. "_Everything_ on the list? Anything else you might want to take along? How about that plant your silly uncle gave you?"

His jaw dropped open in horror, and he was already rushing up the long staircase to his room.

"DEAR BOY, I HOPE YOU MISS THAT TRAIN!" she screeched after him in exasperation. But he heard her telling the house elves to transport the trunk next to the fireplace that she preferred for floo transportation. He grabbed his precious plant while crooning over it lovingly, then headed as fast as he could to the fireplace.

It was a miracle that he didn't trip once.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

"Luna, dear, can you give me a hand with these?" A harassed voice issued from behind the cool glass screen against which Luna was resting her head. She'd been awake for over an hour, but her eyes still felt gummy.

She opened her eyes slowly and turned around to be met with an amusing scene; her father was obviously being besieged by Brinklebythons- minute creatures that nestled under packages and trunks, waiting for an unaware wizard to come across and lift the infested object only to become overbalanced, the weight of the burden constantly changing as the Brinklebythons made themselves heavier or lighter randomly, till the person was fit to burst.

Indeed, the spectacle was entertaining. Her father was struggling to remain upright, moving the heavy trunk from the verandah to the family car. A small smile crept slowly across her features. Her eyes wondered over to the skyline; the sun was only beginning to rise, now.

She wrenched open her second-storey bedroom window, letting in the cool air and alongside it, her father's grunts of strained effort. Luna poked her head out slightly, and closed her eyes, letting the morning breeze float past her face. The air was tinged with the sweet smell of grass. She relished the scent, breathing in deeply. Now she felt awake and fresh.

"I'll be right down!" she called, and closed the window securely again before bounding down the flight of stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

She landed awkwardly at the bottom of the stairway, causing the family portraits lining the walls of the hallway ahead of her to rattle in protest. On her way out, she paused at the hallway table, and grabbed her father's wand, sparing her favorite portrait a quick glance before closing the screen door behind her.

"Need help, daddy?" She questioned, bemusedly, slowly walking towards him. He really was struggling.

"Luna, what on earth have you got in here?" He asked her distractedly, dropping his burden on the grass with a muffled thump.

"Oh... a few things," she smiled to herself, and added slowly as she stopped nearby, "I'll need all of it, father. You can't take anything out."

He stared at her for a few long seconds, redirected his gaze to the over-packed trunk, and sighed in good-natured defeat. "Okay, darling."

"Thanks, daddy." She handed him his wand.

""Not a problem, dear.' With a quick wave, he levitated the trunk towards the vehicle. "I made breakfast while you were packing your last few things. I've already eaten, go ahead. I'll get the car ready."

She nodded quickly and made her way back towards the house, and more importantly, towards the waiting breakfast.

She picked up the ready-made meal and walked steadily up the stairs clutching the laden plate carefully in her left hand. She needed to check once more to make sure everything was packed and ready to go.

As Luna reached the entrance to her room, she paused and looked around appraisingly. She froze. _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3_ as well as a bundle of notes she'd made during the summer were under her bed.

Hadn't she packed them already?

She shrugged non-commitedly. Perhaps a Solimtaver had come and removed some of the things she'd packed. Nuisance, really, those things.

She placed her plate on her writing desk, crouched next to her bed, her back to the door, and began to extract the neat stack of notes. The back of her hand bumped something. She paused hesitantly then allowed her fingers to cautiously peruse the surface of the foreign object. She frowned as she realised it was a small book.

Luna withdrew it carefully and stared at the cover for a few long minutes, her trembling hands trailing over the delicate paper flowers that covered the binding.

_No._

It was her mother's diary.

"_Mother._" Her voice was choked, her chest felt tight. She struggled to draw a breath.

Luna felt a stinging hotness to her eyes she that she dared not acknowledge.

She carefully opened the diary, the fragile pages of which had yellowed slightly from prolonged storage in their humid attic. The blurred words and images before her wavered unsettlingly. Her heart rate increased. She flicked through the next few pages, staring hungrily at the blurry patches before her. Luna could only make out patches of ink now. How her eyes burned.

She blinked. A single tear fell and landed with a small splash on one of the open pages. And suddenly, she could hear her father's footsteps approaching, coming up the stairway. Her eyes widened. Luna snapped the book shut and slotted it in between a few leaves of parchment in the stack lying beside her. She hurriedly wiped her eyes and steadied her breathing.

Two smart knocks sounded on the doorframe. She could feel the presence of her father, standing in the open doorway.

'You've got ten minutes, Luna. Will you be ready to leave then?" He asked.

She kept her back to the door.

Not trusting herself to speak, she murmured vaguely in acknowledgement, trying vainly to make her voice light.

"Okay, I'll see you downstairs then," he said, and made his way back down the stairs.

Luna waited for his foot falls to fade before allowing her hand to stray back to the pile of parchment.

She froze, and bit her lip, her thoughts churning alarmingly.

How had the diary come to be under her bed?

She looked uneasily about her bedroom, almost hoping almost to see something. Her eyes were wide as she peered at the empty corners. The sun was still rising, and the sky was tinged a brilliant pink, making her room eerily red. She shook her head slightly as she felt goose bumps erupting up her back and down her arms.

_No, _she thought firmly to herself. _She's not here._

With those final thoughts, she hefted the heavy box off the floor, stooped to pick up her back pack, and made her way steadily down the staircase arms full, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

Luna's father was outside on the verandah, standing patiently next to the front door, wand out. When she appeared, he offered her a light smile. 'Got everything ready now?'

"I think so, daddy."

"Do you need any help with that?" He looked inquiringly at the stack of notes she clutched in her arms.

"No, they're not heavy."

"Alright." He conceded and gestured towards the waiting car. "Better be off then, we're already a little bit behind schedule."

It was a tradition, of sorts. It would have been far more convenient to floo to a grate close to the station or even to have apparated nearby after shrinking Luna's things, however, every year, Luna and her father went on a road trip of sorts, driving from their house, meandering along familiar roads and paths, not heading only generally in the direction of Kings Cross Station. They never stopped to examine landmarks, merely appreciating the world around them and savouring memories once lost. It was, Luna thought, but a way of keeping a lingering connection between what still remained, and what was lost; a way of keeping near what was fading.

She didn't know if she enjoyed it, but the necessity it held for her father made her respect it.

As her father finished the last security and locking charms on the house, Luna headed towards the car, taking a deep breath.

Time to face it all, again.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

Neville felt himself beaming with happiness. He was so glad to be going back to Hogwarts he could even overlook the hyper active little first years to-be. Of course, half of them were crying, and he winced as he trudged past a particularly noisy little girl. His head turned as he saw out of the corner of his eye that his grandma had stopped to glare for a while in front the first year student. The wailing stopped nearly instantly. He smiled with amusement.

_I'm not the only one she terrifies_, he thought.

He felt his trunk hit something, so turned around. He saw a young man hopping around clutching his shin.

_I only turn my head for a second and look what happens._

"NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM! Apologise to the young man immediately! What a disgrace! Dear lord, you clumsy oaf. What're you waiting for? Apologise!" his grandmother screeched at him furiously. Oh dear, he'd forgotten how angry his grandma got if he made a mistake in public.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I wasn't looking where I was going, it's my fault," he offered lamely, but apologetically. He was surprised to see the young man was looking at him sympathetically, after glancing at his grandmother.

"No harm done! If a man can't take a slight hit done by accident, he's hardly a man, is he? And, it's my fault too, I should have heard you coming. But wait, I can't forgive you for making your grandmother, I presume -," he inclined his head slightly, "- walk with you to the carriage! It's a disgrace, a member of the fairer sex should be looked after, and one as charming as your grandmother should be doted on!" he winked back.

Neville stifled a laugh.

"Fairer sex, charming, why, I believe you're trying to flatter me, you rascal. Off with you!" she snorted back, and waved her stick at him, but Neville could tell she was smiling. Neville decided to play along with him.

"No, he's right, gran! I shouldn't make you walk with me to the carriage. I'm in my fifth year, after all, I can look after myself," he said brightly. For good measure, he dropped his trunk, and hugged her fiercely. "You're the best, grandma! You're as smart and fierce as a Tanzanean Fire-Cherry Tree."

He stepped back to find her blinking with shock and pleasured surprise.

_I haven't hugged her in a while, have I,_ Neville mused.

"I'm as fit as ever, young man. And you couldn't look after yourself if your life depended on it. And imagine that, comparing me to a tree! Bah. Off with you, I guess you can't kill anyone just finding a carriage. Study harder! I want to see some good results this year. Do the Longbottoms proud, you hear?" she grumbled. Was that a smile? Yes, it definitely was.

"Oh, by the way, I think you forgot a friend, boy. Look after him!" she said craftily, and pulled out Trevor.

He groaned with despair. _How_ could he have forgotten! Then he grinned, and nodded assent, then watched her walk away with a surprising amount of regret.

_I'll miss her._

With that thought, he headed for the train.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

Luna checked her watch quickly. It was only ten thirty. The car trip had taken less time this year. She was still half an hour early.

"Ready for another year, darling" Her father asked her, loading her trunk onto a trolley.

"Yes, I'll be fine." She gave him a small reassuring smile. He looked at her dubiously.

Luna wondered at that. Why was he so worried?

"I'll be fine, daddy." She repeated, smiling more broadly this time.

And slowly, hesitantly, he nodded.

"Very well. . . You may owl me any time you wish. Just remember to put both addresses on the envelope so the school owls know where to look for me. Do you remember the _Quibbler_ address?" He took out a sheet of parchment and quill from the boot of the car, and scribbled hastily.

"I remember." She said, tiredly, but still smiling, holding her free hand out to accept the torn portion of parchment. "I don't forget much, remember?"

He laughed appreciatively, "Oh, yes. I almost forgot about that." And with that, he shut the boot of the car, took the box of notes and back pack from Luna's grasp, and placed them carefully on the trolley. "Well, let's be off, then," he nodded at the station.

He strode slowly, Luna trailing behind slightly, her eyes carefully taking in her surroundings, the high ceiling, with intricate stained glass windows to either side, and the hundreds of busy muggles, walking briskly along, dressed in straight black suits, completely unaware of one another, engrossed entirely in their own thoughts.

She almost bumped into her father when he stopped beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"You first, darling." He nodded at the wall.

"Thanks, daddy." And she stepped through, while he casually leaned against the wall, obscuring her from the view of the passing muggles.

He waited a few moments before following her through, pushing the trolley before him as he went.

On the platform, she walked through the small groups of milling students. Some of whom waved to her, but none too enthusiastic about seeing her. She offered vague smiles and small waves in return, wanting only to find an empty compartment to sit in.

She peered through a window near the back of the train. It was blessedly empty.

"Here, daddy."

"It's empty?" He inquired, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Yes." She nodded, and reached out to grab her backpack and box off the trolley.

He frowned slightly and cast a shrinking spell on the box of notes. "I'll put this into your trunk. Why don't you go and get changed?"

Luna stepped onto the train and tossed her backpack into the empty compartment after extracting her rather crumpled uniform. She made her way briskly to the rather cramped restroom at the end of the carriage and removed her muggle clothing, slipping into the far more comfortable and familiar uniform.

She checked her reflection in the dim tinted light of the train, admiring her new school robes, featuring the blue and bronze crest of Ravenclaw that she wore proudly.

She bundled up her muggle outfit carelessly under her arm and unlocked the bathroom door, only to find Cho Chang waiting outside, fidgeting restlessly with her own set of robes that she held.

"Hi, Luna!" She greeted cheerfully, with a quick smile.

Luna smiled back, "Hi, Cho."

"Your holidays were good?" she stepped around Luna to get to the bathroom.

"Yes, they were." Luna conceded. "Father and I went on a trip to try and document the mating procedures of Cortizapsins. Quite fascinating, really." And it had been. They hadn't found the creatures, but they had a lot of fun camping, nevertheless.

Cho looked at her blankly for a moment, hand still on the bathroom door, and Luna saw how she forced a smile. "Yes... that does sound like fun. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday." She said, "I'd better get changed though." She nodded at the folded uniform she held in her hand. "I'll see you at school, then?"

Cho waited for Luna's nod before she turned away.

Luna headed back to her backpack. She stuffed her muggle clothing unceremoniously into the bag, pulled out her wand out, and tucked it securely behind her ear. Her thoughts kept straying back to the small diary she'd found.

Wand in her hand, she left the train to find her dad struggling to load her trunk into the luggage bay, his hair askew and his face red from the exertion. Once he'd accomplished his laborious task, he stepped back looking extremely satisfied. Suddenly, inexplicably, a small grin flitted across her face. He was completely unaware of her watching him. She felt a strange, warm feeling settle in around the bottom of her stomach.

"Luna!" He walked briskly over to her, having finally spotted her, and gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you at Christmas break, then?" He ran his hand through her hair fondly and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Yes daddy, I'll see you then." And impulsively, she hugged fiercely.

When she drew back, she looked up him, surprise clear on his face.

Feeling satisfied, she turned and hopped back onto the carriage, intent on staying out of sight to avoid any taunts that might come her way while her father was still on the platform.

When she sat down by the window, she watched her father's retreating back for a while, before, as he reached the barrier, he turned back around, and blew her a kiss.

She laughed and waved farewell.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

Luna checked her wrist watch for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. There were still a further ten minutes before the train was due to depart. Her inexplicably cheery mood from earlier on had vanished, and she found herself dwelling on the diary she had found this morning.

She sighed quietly to herself as she sat by the open window, her elbows propped up on the window sill, small hands gently tracing the surface of the delicate golden locket she wore about her neck on a long, fine chain- her mother's.

It had been a long morning.

Luna stared down at the locket in her hand, and squeezed it tightly.

Another year to look forward to.

"Here we go, mum. Maybe this year will be better." She placed the locket securely inside her robes, and pulled out her customary necklace, a protection ward against the evil eye, made of butterbeer caps.

She stood, shut the window gently, and turned to carefully examine the empty train compartment.

_Others will come_, she mused_, they always do_. _There's never enough room on the Express._

With that last thought, she sat down once again on the red cushioned seat, adjusted the cork necklace she'd fashioned for herself but a few days ago, pulled out a fresh copy of _The Quibbler _that her father had given to her just this morning, and read.

**------------ ------------ ------------**

**A/N:** **As the title suggests, hopefully a good beginning to a good story. We hope we've managed to keep Neville and Luna as they are portrayed in the official series, please drop us a line if you notice anything too out of character, and suggestions are always helpful.**

**The title, _Deimos_, is as a lot of you know, one of Mars' moons. We decided on this title because Mars is the Greek god of war, representing bravery and courage, where Deimos is a moon (Luna!) of mars. )**

**On another note, neither of us know Latin. So if anyone knows how to correctly express the Longbottom motto, please do drop us a line.**

**Please R & R!**

**  
- Sorrow & Fiery**

**Minor edits made 19/12/2005**


	2. Onwards

**Chapter 2 – Onwards:**

Neville was tired. His stressful morning had finally caught up with him. It had taken him a great deal of effort, but he'd managed to avoid any major accidents in dragging his carriage onto the train. All he wanted to find now was a nice seat to collapse into, but it was as though the fates were against him - his search for an empty seat proved fruitless. All of the compartments so far were full. And to add to all of this, handling Trevor was beginning to be a chore.

As he reached the final carriage of the train, struggling to pull his trunk along behind him, his face fell at the sight that met him. It seemed that the first-years-to-be had somehow laid claim to the entire train. Thus far, he hadn't been able to look around without seeing at least two loud, squeaky children at any one time. He was hoping for respite, at least, towards the end of the train, but alas.

As he reached the last compartment, he noted it was quiet, and so most probably void of the new first years. He nearly sighed with relief. He peered through the small crack between the door and doorway, and could see empty seats. In fact, the entire compartment seemed empty.

_Phew, _he thought_. At least I won't have to stand throughout the journey._

He put down the trunk with a grateful sigh, shifted Trevor around to a more secure position, and opened the door only to find a girl with long, straggly waist-length blonde hair already sitting there, looking quite absorbed in her magazine. He froze with fingers still on the handle.

He would _not_ spend the whole train trip alone in a carriage with a girl. If one of the Slytherins came along he wouldn't hear the end of it. Turning back into the corridor, his attention was suddenly caught by the girl's wand . . . a wand that stuck out from behind her ear. He frowned in puzzlement. Who on earth kept their wand tucked in behind their ear?

Almost against his will, his eyes drifted downward to rest on the necklace she wore, made of . . . butterbeer corks? He blinked in confusion. Then he noted that the magazine she was reading was _upside down._

He turned resolutely away from the carriage, now not only dodging the Slytherin taunts, but also avoiding that girl. She seemed a little unbalanced . . .

'Where are the others?' He muttered under his breath, thinking of walking back down towards the front of the train.

He closed the door firmly, turned away, and only just after managing to catch his breath, reluctantly lifted his heavy trunk again with a great deal of effort, to suddenly find Harry and Ginny in front of him, obviously looking for an unoccupied compartment. Apparently he wasn't the only one without a seat.

'Hi, Harry,' he panted, dropping the heavy trunk to the floor again. 'Hi, Ginny... Every where's full . . . I can't find a seat . . .'

He really was exhausted.

'What are you talking about?' said Ginny as she pushed past Neville to peer into the compartment that he'd just abandoned. 'There's room in this one,' she continued. 'There's only Loony Lovegood in here –'

Neville muttered a quickly thought up an excuse, a blush already creeping up his face. 'She was reading her magazine, and she looked like she didn't want to be disturbed...'

To his great relief, Ginny laughed. 'Don't be silly,' she said, 'she's all right.'

And with that, Ginny slid the door open, and pulled her trunk inside, Harry following behind.

With a resolute sigh, Neville trudged heavily into the compartment after them.

'Hi, Luna,' Ginny greeted the girl, 'is it okay if we take these seats?'

Neville quickly avoided the girl's gaze as she looked away from the magazine. However, he did not look quickly away enough to completely avoid her protuberant silvery eyes.

'Thanks,' he heard Ginny reply.

At Harry's signal, Neville moved over to the three trunks. Together, the two boys managed to stow away the heavy cases, with Neville only nearly dropping his trunk once.

Harry slid into the seat opposite Luna, and Neville found his seat next to Harry's.

Neville cleared his throat awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Again, to his immense relief, Ginny spoke. 'Had a good summer, Luna?'

'Yes,' replied Luna dreamily, staring unerringly at Harry. 'Yes, it was quite

enjoyable, you know. _You're _Harry Potter,' she added.

'I know I am,' said Harry, a note of surprise in his voice.

Neville chuckled quietly to himself. Of course! With Harry next to him, he'd escape her attention. He'd had enough of being scruitinised closely for the day. His Grandma was an exhausting woman sometimes. Great, but exhausting.

However, to his alarm, his unbidden chuckling had cause Luna's eyes to move purposefully to his corner of the compartment. He swallowed nervously.

'And I don't know who you are.' She stated.

'I'm nobody,' replied Neville, hurriedly, instinctively lowering his head.

'No you're not,' came Ginny's sharp reply. 'Neville Longbottom – Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw.'

There was a slight pause in which Neville was unsure as to whether he should say anything more. He was about to ask Luna about her family when she interrupted him.

'_Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,' _she said, in a singsong voice.

Neville blinked, and turned to look at Harry. What in the name of Merlin . . .?

When he glanced back at Luna, she was already buried in her magazine once again. He found that he'd had his hands clenched beneath the table, and worked his fingers to relax them again.

Ginny began asking him about his holiday. 'So, Neville . . . did you go anywhere this break?'

As he replied, he resolutely placed his hands, motionless, on his knees, determined not to fidget. 'No,' he replied. 'My Grandma went to Australia, though. She left for two weeks to see some distant relatives of mine. She needed to clear up some issues about the family inheritance, and things like that. So I was home alone for a little while.' He smiled happily as Ginny nodded. It was oddly relaxing to be without his grandmother, but after a few days, he found himself missing her company. He grinned wryly, 'After a week or so, at my Grandma's bidding, my great uncle Algie came to stay.'

At the mention of his uncle, he suddenly recalled the gift he'd received over the holidays, 'Guess what I got for my birthday?' he asked.

Harry turned from gazing out the window mindlessly, and focused vaguely upon Neville.

'Another Remembrall?' He guessed distractedly.

'No,' replied Neville and he after a quick thought, he added 'I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago. . . . no, look at this. . . .'

With a little bit of difficulty, Neville shifted his grip on Trevor again, and used his free hand to search around in his schoolbag for his precious plant.

After a moment or two, he finally found it. He pulled it out of his bag, and said proudly, '_Mimbulus_ _mimbletonia!_'

Neville quickly checked the body of the plant, to be sure that it had survived being tossed around in his bag. It was pulsing healthily for which he was thankful.

'It's really, really rare,' said Neville happily. 'I don't know it there's one in the

greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great

Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it.'

Neville noticed Harry's lack of enthusiasm. 'Does it – er – do anything?' he asked.

'Loads of stuff!' said Neville proudly. 'It's got an amazing defensive mechanism - here, hold Trevor for me. . . .'

He placed Trevor into Harry's lap and dug out a spare quill he'd thrown into his backpack in the morning.

He expertly examined the surface of the plant, looking for a tougher spot where he could prod it without causing too much damage to it. He rotated the plant twice through, slowly, searching carefully, before choosing a particularly open area.

He hesitated, then, with a great deal of care and concentration, poked it sharply with the tip of the quill.

He flinched back in surprise, aghast, as copious amounts of the _mimbeltonia_'s thick, green sap squirted out in every direction. He nearly dropped his precious plant in surprise as his face and chest was drenched in the stinking stuff.

It took him a moment to recognise the sap's distinct smell.

Fertiliser.

Lovely.

He blinked and shook his head dazedly, fighting to get the liquid out of his eyes. He watched through blurred vision, the disastrous scene before him. Harry spat out a mouthful of the sap, launching Neville into nervous apology.

'S – sorry,' he gasped, still horrified at what his plant had done. 'I haven't tried that before. . . . Didn't realize it would be quite so . . . Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous.' Perhaps he should have tried it at home before carelessly experimenting with it before his friends.

Neville heard the compartment door behind him slide open.

'Oh . . . hello, Harry,' said a nervous voice. It was a girl. 'Um . . . bad time?'

'Oh . . . hi,' said Harry flatly.

Neville could have sank into the ground.

'Um . . .' said the girl. 'Well . . . just thought I'd say hello . . . bye then.'

_That really wasn't a good idea_, he thought, mortified.

Neville watched in alarm as Harry slumped back in his seat and let out a low groan. Stinksap _wasn't _poisonous... was it?

Before Neville could ask Harry if he was all right, Ginny leaned forward.

'Never mind,' she said in a pacifying voice. 'Look, we can easily get rid of all this.' She pulled out her wand, and cleared the mess away.

'Sorry,' said Neville again, in a small voice.

------------- ------------- -------------

After the passing of the Stinksap incident which she had found slightly amusing, Luna seemingly engrossed herself in examining the kumquat curse featured in the _Quibbler_. However, while examining the spell-runes, her thoughts were fixed on the three Gryffindor students that sat with her. Politely, they did not exclude her from their conversations, offering to share their food that they'd bought off the trolley which she gladly accepted. But at the same time, they did not wholly invite her to join in. However, their conduct was in no way rude or aggressive toward her in anyway, and that was a welcome change.

They were comfortable company, she thought.

She sat silently and contentedly in the corner seat she had claimed as her own and continued peering at the list of runes, storing them away in her memory.

Suddenly, the compartment door was flung open, and a boy with flaming red hair, clutching a cage containing a minute, madly twittering minute owl, flung himself into the seat between Harry and Neville announcing loudly, 'I'm starving!'

Luna lowered her magazine slightly and peered closely at his face. What was his name? She sorted through her vague memories, trying to drudge up any details she could remember about him.

His hair was the same shade as Ginny's. So he'd most probably be a Weasley as well. He was obviously a griffindor student . . . but who _was _he? Her mind churned furiously, flying through previous conversations, ones she'd either taken an active part in or simply overheard- it was difficult to tell them apart now.

She watched him closely as he set his owl cage down next to Harry's, and hurriedly grabbed a chocolate frog off the pile on the table, unwrapped it hungrily and bit off its head with a disgustingly large amount of pleasure evident on his visage.

And then suddenly, unbidden, she remembered. His name was Ronald Weasley, Padma Patil's Yule ball date last year. She recalled quite clearly the weeks after the ball where the fifth year girls had gone on long and irritating rants about their either wonderfully charming boyfriends, or their absolutely disastrous dates. According to the fifth years, he was reputedly self centered, inconsiderate, boring, very hot-tempered, and definitely ill-mannered. Luna thought vaguely that these permanent labels were rather unfair, regardless as to how badly he treated his date for just one night.

Luna kept her eyes on him, as he reached for another frog, having devoured the rest of the last one in one swallow.

Despite the possibly unfair labels, there was no denying one thing; he'd been tagged, by most of the students in Hogwarts, as Harry Potter's best friend, and at this moment, that last accusation looked completely true. He was chatting animatedly with Harry, even though most people would have choked on the amount of chocolate he had in his mouth.

Impulsively, Luna decided to find out whether or not the former accusations were true. She lowered the quibbler a little more to get a better look at him.

'_You_ went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil,' she said, watching closely for his reaction.

He swallowed his mouthful of frog.

'Yeah, I know I did,' he replied, a mildly surprised look on his face.

'She didn't enjoy it very much,' Luna informed him, thinking closely back to the conversations she'd overheard. Padma definitely did not enjoy it very much. In fact, she recalled Padma calling him several rude names, Dunghead being among one of the nicer ones. Spurred on by the blank look on his face, Luna felt like she had to explain. 'She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her.' She paused slightly, searching for a reaction. Not even a faint flicker of annoyance or anger passed across his face. He still looked slightly confused. To help him out, she added, 'I don't think I'd have minded. I don't like dancing very much.' Perhaps he merely did not enjoy dancing, in any case, this would have provided him with a good excuse for treating Padma so poorly.

She paused a moment longer, waiting for a reaction. When no response was issued, she shrugged inwardly, and returned to her magazine.

He didn't seem too self-centered or inconsiderate. Perhaps he was merely slow and so did not know how to treat a girl properly on a date. She added mentally that he had to work on his eating etiquette. The mess he was leaving behind while devouring those chocolate frogs was unsightly.

Luna's thoughts on Ronald were gradually being interrupted, her ears beginning to attune themselves to the conversation going on around her. She nearly started when she heard an unfamiliar female voice. Apparently someone else had entered the compartment alongside Ronald.

'For heaven's sake, Ron –,' said the voice, in exasperation. Luna tried to place a name to it. She knew that there were the three of them- Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and . . . the other girl.

_What was her name?_ Luna thought in vexation. That was twice, today.

Meanwhile, Ronald was saying something, a cheerful note in his voice. 'I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing.' He made his voice turn to a low grunt. '_I . . . must . . . not . . . look . . . like . . . a . . . baboon's . . . backside. . . ._'

The words floated through Luna's mind slowly, her thoughts already occupied at trying to identify the other female in the compartment. Caught off guard, she let out a shriek of laughter.

_Baboon's backside_! She repeated inwardly, followed by yet another peal of laughter. She hadn't laughed this hard for weeks! _Baboon's backside!_ she repeated once again, Ronald's voice echoing clearly through her mind. She could feel her ribs beginning to strain under her persistent laughter, and her eyes felt a hot as tears sprung up. She felt her hands release the magazine, and vaguely heard it fall to the ground. But she couldn't stop laughing.

'That was _funny_!' She managed to gasp out.

She clutched at her ribs that were beginning to protest furiously, and bent over to relieve the strain they were under, but even that could not dull her laughter.

"Are you taking the mickey?" she heard Ronald's voice.

"_Baboon's . . . backside!"_ she choked, still holding her ribs tightly, _still_ unable to control her laughter.

But Merlin, _he was_ _funny_.

She tried to slow her breathing gradually, her arms still wrapped tightly around her ribs.

She peered at Ronald, reevaluating him. He definitely was _not_ boring. If the fifth years were wrong about this, they were most probably wrong about all of the other things too. She thought happily to herself that if someone could make her laugh like that all the time, she'd be so cheery that even all the world's dementors together could not take all of her happiness away from her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry. 'Can I have a look at this?' He asked her eagerly.

She nodded in assent, and quickly resumed her thinking. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as the other girls had made him out to be. Padma was probably just annoyed that the night hadn't gone as well as she would've liked, and also, most likely enjoyed the extra attention she was receiving from her sympathetic classmates. Ronald certainly seemed alright. He had yet to have made any nasty comments about her, which was much more than could be said about most of the other Ravenclaw boys. Perhaps he wasn't that bad after all.

His ability to make people laugh could certainly outweigh his overly enthusiastic eating habits.

She was still peering at him when he said to Harry, 'Anything good in there?'

The unknown female voice cut in. 'Of course not,' it replied scathingly. 'The _Quibbler's _rubbish, everyone knows that.'

Luna turned her head sharply. Of course. Hermione Granger.

The fifth years often whined about her, too. They claimed she was an insufferable know it all, never turning down a moment in class to prove how much smarter she was than the rest of them. The complained about the snide looks she'd shoot over at the Ravenclaw students when the teachers picked her before them to volunteer her correct answer.

Luna did not begrudge her for her knowledge, or for her participation in class. In fact, she doubted that Hermione would, in fact, gloat about her knowledge. She did, however, feel affronted at her sudden attack on her father's work.

'Excuse me,' retorted Luna, 'my father's the editor.'

A long silence followed.

'I – oh,' began Hermione, at least having the decency to look embarrassed. 'Well . . . it's got some interesting. . . I mean, it's quite . . .' it seemed she was struggling to come up with a suitable response.

Irritated, Luna cut her off. 'I'll have it back, thank you,' and she reached towards Harry, pulling the magazine from his hands, turned it upside down, and resumed her reading of the kumquat runes.

She vaguely heard the compartment door open, but she ignored it resolutely.

------------- ------------- -------------

Neville shifted around in his seat uncomfortably. Luna, cheerful and relaxed was unnerving enough. In her current state, Neville found himself even more unsettled than before.

_I hope she doesn't start crying or yelling,_ he thought fervently as the compartment door slid open.

He turned his attention towards the door to see Malfoy, standing between Crabbe and Goyle, smirking nastily at Harry. His nervousness quickly turned to annoyance.

_Can't he for once look as though he meant to do something decent, _Neville thought furiously.

'What?' he heard Harry say, aggressively.

Neville felt the same. He would have said something too, but couldn't bring himself to be hostile, unprovoked. He'd never had that sort of temperament, but was gradually beginning to agree with his grandmother that he should learn to be more assertive.

Malfoy certainly deserved it, and Neville had disliked him for what he so willingly represented since the first time he saw him. His family - his parents - had fought and suffered so much, acting against the very ideals that Malfoy and his father believed in.

'Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention,' drawled Malfoy easily, in response. 'You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.'

Neville was getting angry. Losing house points because Malfoy snitched on his friends was one thing, but Malfoy, of all people_, a prefect,_ threatening to punish Harry because of _manners_?

_If he does, I'll… I'll do something and he'll regret it_. Neville thought viciously. The unfairness of the situation grated on his nerves. He opened his mouth to say something, but Harry got in first.

'Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone,' He stated.

_That showed him!_ Neville thought as he laughed along with Ginny, Hermione and Ron, even though his insides squirmed guiltily. Why hadn't he been able to speak up? He certainly had the right to.

Neville watched Malfoy's lip curl, and could see that his pride had been stung.

_He has nothing to be proud of. _Neville snorted quietly to himself. _But I'll bet ten galleons that he says something vindictive now._

Right on cue, it seemed, Malfoy spat viciously, his eyes narrowing. 'Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?'

'Shut up, Malfoy,' replied Hermione, at once, sharply.

Malfoy's snide sneer returned. 'I seem to have touched a nerve.' He said, seemingly satisfied. 'Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line.'

Suddenly, Hermione stood up. 'Get out!' she said, threateningly, pointing at the door.

Malfoy sniggered, gave Harry one last look then motioned for his sidekicks to follow him as he left.

A moment of silence passed, then, 'Chuck us another Frog,' demanded Ron. And Neville was forced to watch a hungry Ron devour the poor thing down in one large, noisy gulp.

After finishing off all the food, things settled down, including the weather. With the dreary overcast sky looming above, drowsiness began to creep in, as deliberately as forced ice in a frost crystal. As the train progressed further north, Neville could feel the air getting cooler, and the long trip ahead made for boring contemplation.

Neville tried to liven things up by offering to introduce all the unique things about his _mimbeltonia_, but even Luna shouted a vehement '_No!_' alongside the rest of them.

At last, Hermione's voice cut through the silence. 'We'd better change,' she said.

And with great difficulty, all of them opened their trunks and shifted around uncomfortably in the cramped compartment, struggling to pull on their robes. It seemed Luna had the foresight to change before the journey started.

And as they straightened their robes, the train finally began to slow down.

------------- ------------- -------------

Luna prepared to step off the train, her pack safely hefted onto her back. She glanced quickly at Neville, who put his toad securely in a pocket of his robes. Her eyes shifted to Harry who was struggling with two owl cages, Ronald having gone off with Hermione to supervise, leaving Harry with Pigwideon.

'I'll carry that owl, if you like,' she offered, reaching out for Ronald's owl.

'Oh – er – thanks,' Harry replied, handing the cage to her carefully, as he shifted Hedwig's cage to a more secure position under his arm.

As they stepped off the train, the first wave of cool air stung their faces refreshingly, and Luna examined the small owl closely. The creature began twittering and rocketing around his cage even more energetically than before.

Luna took a deep breath. The smell of the air was sweet and fresh and clean, vaguely reminiscent of the air she enjoyed earlier today in the morning at her home. A sudden image of her father struggling with her trunk formed unbidden before her.

She smiled.

A clear female voice cut suddenly through her thoughts. 'First-years line up over here, please! All first-years to me!' It was Professor Grubbly-Plank.

Luna wondered vaguely where Hagrid had gone. She felt no real remorse for his absence; she would have heard something about him from Harry and his friends if he were seriously ill or injured. So she assumed he must have been on a holiday, or something. At least, she thought hopefully, she could now look forward to not having to fear for the loss of any of her limbs during her Care of Magical Creatures classes.

Hopefully he'd be away for a while.

She let the crowd of students carry her naturally towards the waiting carriages.

She smiled to herself, thoughtfully. The carriages were a great mystery as far as she was concerned. Since her first year at Hogwarts, her fellow peers had always marveled at the horselessness of the school carriages. She didn't tell anyone this, but she knew that the carriages were indeed, _not _horseless! She'd been able to see the creatures that drew the carriages since she first came to Hogwarts.

She cocked her head to the side and examined them carefully. They were vaguely ghastly looking, black, with visible skeletal frame below their thin coats that would most probably scare most of her fellow peers senseless. But Luna could feel that they had no aggressive intent towards any of the students who tended to ignore their existence anyway. Her eyes perused up their necks and onto their head. They had no eyes, or so it seemed, they had hollow sockets, another unfortunate thing, but what Luna liked about them best was their wings. They could _fly._

A shrill screech from Ronald's owl brought her back to the present. She turned around swiftly to face the crowd of students, slowly pushing their way to the carriages. She scanned the top of the crowd, looking for Ronalds's characteristic red hair. She strained her slightly to see, narrowing her eyes; it was dark, and the cool air was beginning to make her eyes water.

And then she spotted him, standing a few meters away, with Harry Potter on one side and Hermione Granger on the other. She took a deep breath, resolutely began to force her way against the crowd.

'Here you are,' she said, as she found them. She held out the owl's cage for Ronald to take back. She felt she should say something, out of politeness, so then added 'He's a sweet little owl, isn't he?'

'Er . . . yeah . . . he's all right,' replied Ronald gruffly. 'Well, come on then, let's get in

. . . what were you saying, Harry?'

Harry Potter was staring hard at the creatures in front of the carriage as they walked towards a carriage. 'I was saying, what are those horse things?'

'What horse things?' Ronald said, puzzled. Luna decided to watch how this played out. Harry Potter could see them too?

'The horse things pulling the carriages!' quipped Harry impatiently. She could see how frustrated he was getting. They were, after all, only about three feet from the nearest one. Ronald, however, gave Harry a perplexed, worried look. Luna smiled grimly.

_Harry Potter could see them_! So she wasn't insane after all. Unless of course, Harry, too, was insane.

'What are you talking about?' Ron demanded.

'I'm talking about – look!' Harry placed his hands on Ronald's shoulders and led him to stand directly next to the fearsome thing. Ronald stared blankly at it and then looked at Harry worriedly.

'What am I supposed to be looking at?'

'At the – there, between the shafts! Harnessed to the coach! It's right there in –,' But as Ronald continued to look bemused, Luna saw Harry's thoughts churning. 'Can't . . . can't you see them?'

Her grim smile got wider.

'See what?'

'Can't you see what's pulling the carriages?'

Ronald looked at Harry apprehensively. 'Are you feeling all right, Harry?' Luna could appreciate his concern.

'I . . . yeah . . .' Harry trailed off, looking utterly bewildered.

'Shall we get in, then?' said Ronald, shooting an uncertain look at Harry.

'Yeah,' replied Harry quickly. 'Yeah, go on . . .'

Ron boarded the carriage leaving Harry and Luna standing outside, staring at the creatures. Luna decided to speak.

'It's all right,' she told him slowly. 'You're not going mad or anything. I can see them, too.'

'Can you?' Harry quickly broke his gaze with the creature and turned to face Luna, a note of desperation and urgency in his voice she had not heard before. She smiles reassuringly

'Oh, yes,' she added bracingly, 'I've been able to see them ever since my first day here.

They've always pulled the carriages. Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am.'

Hoping to have placed his mind at ease, she turned toward the carriage, and hoisted herself up and away from the chill night air.

------------- ------------- -------------

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And to Ciladis: thanks for pointing out our errors. If only we could just figure out how to edit these things... lol.**

**Same deal, here. ) Any mistakes, anything OOC, drop us a line, and let us know!**

**Please R & R**

**- Fiery & Sorrow**


	3. Warnings

**Chapter 3 - Warnings:**

Luna entered the mouldy smelling carriage with Harry in tow. She felt rather pleased with herself, having been able to put both her and Harry's minds at ease. She had concluded with conviction that since they could both see the creatures drawing the carriages, they were both most obviously not insane, due to the fact that Harry Potter of all people could _not_ be crazy, regardless as to what the _Daily Prophet_ had printed over the summer.

Luna glanced quickly at Harry, and saw how uneasy he still appeared as he looked outside the carriage window, at the creatures, their fearsome bodies reflected dully in his eyes. She felt that maybe she should say something reassuring. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Ginny.

'Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?' Ginny peered around at the three others in the carriage. 'What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?'

For the first time today, Luna felt a ripple of annoyance. Being friends with the half-giant was one thing, but actually believing that he was a good teacher, actually wanting him to take classes was something that Luna found beyond reason. Anyone with even half a mind could tell that the man was incompetent at teaching; nearly all of the creatures he had brought out to her class last year were downright dangerous. For sure he was great with animals - Luna bet that if anyone could finally spot, capture and then keep a Crumple-Horned Snorkak, it would most likely be Hagrid – but giving him the job of the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures was something that Luna felt was utterly unreasonable.

'I'll be quite glad if he has left, he isn't a very good teacher, is he?' She stated as much.

'Yes, he is!' retorted the Gryffindors, hotly.

But out of the corner of her eye, Luna had noticed that Hermione had remained silent.

Under Harry's glare, Hermione relented, 'Erm . . . yes . . . he's very good.'

She still could not believe how blinded her fellow students were. To support someone out of friendship was fair enough until you began to completely deceive yourself as to their competency.

'Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke.'

Ronald Weasley glared at her, irritated. 'You lot have a rubbish sense of humour, then.'

_Loyal to a fault_, Luna mused. She searched Ronald's face for a while, not sure of what she was looking for, but certain that she'd just unearthed something new about him. He was willing to defend his friends even though they were clearly not deserving of his defense. That sort of loyalty was admirable; however, blind trust had the disastrous potential to lead him to sticky situations.

Luna quietly probed her thoughts. Was this loyalty considered to be a strength? Or was it rather a fault, a flaw in his character? Perhaps it was neither, or both.

As she came to this rather unsatisfying conclusion, the carriage drew to a halt outside the huge stone steps. She got out first, and stood at the base of the steps for a while, drinking in the sight of the wonderful place – it calmed her, being near Hogwarts again. It was almost as though she could feel the magic emanating from the walls of the Castle.

**------------- ------------- -------------**

Neville stepped out of his carriage and began to peer around in the near darkness. The brightness of the torches made faces indistinct which made finding friends very difficult. He spotted Ron's red hair, and sure enough, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and even Luna were about to start making their way towards the castle's stone stairs. He turned and waved goodbye to Hannah and Ernie, then rushed in the gathering cold towards his friends. He glanced towards the Black Lake, and vaguely noticed thunderheads forming just behind the mountains. The moon cast an eerie glow over the rippling water. He shivered.

Neville glanced at his plant carefully, and then made sure Trevor was ok. He weaved and ducked his way through the students, eager to be with his friends. Rain from earlier on during the day had made the ground slightly slippery, so he had to be careful. He nearly slipped once, but luckily a second year Slytherin was there. Neville grabbed him roughly, unintentionally, mouthed an apology when he received a furious glare, then continued on his way. The cool wind turned a bitingly wet as he reached his friends, and the first of the thunderstorms broke out over the lake. The storm was closing in fast. He rushed with his friends towards the warm, welcoming Entrance Hall of Hogwarts.

He nearly tripped again on the stone steps, as the first light pattering of rain made them even more dangerous than the ground. Harry steadied him, and as one, they entered the hall. They crossed the stone floor and went through the double doors into the Great Hall. Neville was looking forward to start-of-term feast. He looked around delightedly.

It never changed. It was like a solid rock in a maelstrom. Neville felt himself relaxing, and a grin stole over his face. A huge fireplace roared to the side, but Neville was sure that the hall was kept warm by magic. A house elf appeared with a dry and gloriously warm towel. Neville grabbed it to pat his clothes and hair dry. Hermione stepped forward and started towards the Gryffindor table, with the rest of them following. He saw Luna give them a smile, which Ginny and Harry returned, and then a small wave, before heading towards the Ravenclaw side. Neville waved belatedly, then feeling foolish, followed his friends towards the table. He saw a fourth year girl call out Ginny's name with delight, and Ginny rushed over for a hug, chattering as soon as she reached her friends.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville moved down the table a little further, then found a row of seats that were empty. Hermione sat down next to Nearly Headless Nick, Harry next to her and Ron, with Neville following, seated where Parvati and Lavender were to left. Neville put Trevor and _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ on the desk in front of him as he heard Parvati and Lavender say 'Hi Harry' in unison.

He turned around and greeted them. He heard Harry say something indistinct about someone not being there, and wondered who he meant, but quickly diverted his attention to the two girls.

'So how were your holidays? Anything interesting? I got myself a _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_!' smiled Neville with pride, gesturing at his plant.

Lavendar lifted an eyebrow with amusement. 'Well, I see that. I suppose that's an . . . interesting and rare plant? Anyway, I, as usual, had the most boring holidays ever, as I was telling Parvati here. But Parvati went to India! Tell him about that Fire Dragonet, go on!'

At this, Parvati took out a picture of a small, red, winged lizard. 'I met one of these. It was a pet of the Indian wizard that we stayed with for a week. Isn't he _gorgeous_? He's a cousin to the dragons, but smaller in size… and heart.' At this Parvati and Lavender giggled madly, and the creature in the picture opened its eyes balefully, clearly offended. It made as if to walk out of the frame, and Neville quickly pointed that out to Parvati.

Parvati grabbed the frame and spoke in a conciliatory tone. 'It's very clever, mind! Beware what you say to him, he understands every word. He blew a small gust of flame at me in India, when I laughed at him for being scared of a cat.'

At this, the creature eyed her then plopped down lazily, closing its eyes and falling to sleep. Lavender burst into giggles again.

Neville shook his head with despair. _Why must they be giggling all the time?_

Then all three of them sobered up as the door near the staff table opened, and Professor Grubbly-Plank came in, followed a few seconds later by Professor McGonagall with the first years in tow. Neville gaped at them.

The professor had a stool with the Sorting Hat on it, but the first years always surprised Neville. They looked so small! And scared. Neville wondered if he'd looked as scared when it had been his time. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to be thinking these things, as the chattering in the Great Hall faded to a whisper, then died down. The first years lined up in front of the staff table facing the older students. Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back to observe.

The whole school waited, breath held.

Suddenly, there was an awful, tearing peal of thunder, and the sky crackled with the noise of wood splintering. Everyone gave a sudden start, and Neville heard several girlish screams, quickly cut short. Dumbledore waved his hand, and the sound abruptly cut off.

Neville felt someone poke him viciously. He looked down with a muted sound of protest, and saw Lavender pointing to the other side of the table with a glare. The person sitting opposite him had received a dose of metallic coloured Stinksap.

Neville's mouthed formed an o of shock. _What the…_

He frantically mouthed an apology as the Sorting Hat started singing its song in the background. He mouthed the spell to the girl that would clear it up then cleared his own side of the table and as far onto the other side as he could. It seemed the _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ threw out metallic Stinksap to protect itself from lightning strikes.

By the time Neville had finished cleaning the mess up, and turned his attention to the Sorting Hat, it was winding down. Neville listened with interest.

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though / must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether Sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you. . . ._

_Let the Sorting now begin._

Neville thoughtfully applauded, and wasn't the only one. Whispers and subdued conversations had broken out throughout the hall. While everyone clapped, looks were exchanged, and Neville noticed many people as confused as he was. He turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione, to see what they thought of the message.

Ron had a bemused expression his face, eye brows raised. 'Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?'

Harry was looking a mixture between relieved and worried. 'Too right it has.'

Neville looked at him carefully. Why relieved? Most odd.

'I wonder if it's ever given warnings before?' said Hermione, sounding as if she wanted to be in the library, looking up books. But that wasn't out of the ordinary, she was always fretting over the safety of her friends, and apparently the best way she'd found to help her friends was to look in books. Neville felt a smile creep across his face. She really was nice, and he was glad he had her as a friend.

Abruptly, Neville felt as if he'd been doused with icy cold water. He winced as he saw Nearly Headless Nick leaning through him. 'Yes, indeed. The Hat feels itself honour bound to give the school due warning whenever it feels-'

Abruptly, he stopped talking. Neville looked around to see what had happened, and saw Professor McGonagall glaring at them with looks that could melt steel.

As the professor started reading out the list of first year students, and the Sorting Hat sorted them, Neville's mind drifted.

_Our Hogwarts is in danger, from external deadly foes…that can only mean Voldemort, right? And the Sorting Hat doesn't want to split us into Houses. Does that mean it's advising us to let go of inter-House rivalry? We must unite inside her…I think it _is _saying that. Hmm…You know, now that I think of it, I don't have any friends from the other houses, do I? Neither does Ron, or Hermione. Maybe Harry has one or two, like Cho. I wonder what Gran would say to me now?_

_I remember her saying that Slytherins were not inherently evil, and that, in any case, trying to rid the world of evil had historically been the most evil force itself. I'm not sure what she meant by that, I'll write and ask her. But the Sorting Hat is wise, isn't it? And Dumbledore hasn't criticised it. In fact, Dumbledore trusts it. In fact, Dumbledore said pretty much the same thing at the end of last year, and Gran had agreed with him. _

'_Neville, dear boy, every human is a facet of the same jewel we call Home. We are not like a stick, a birch of a tree, easy to break with a snap of your fingers. We must stick together, a bundle of sticks is very hard to break. We are a community of subjects, not individual objects. You might not understand me now, but keep my words in mind. Collectivity is the weapon that will defeat Voldemort,' she had said._

Abruptly, Neville was thrown out of his thoughts to find the Sorting ceremony over, and Dumbledore speaking in a loud, ringing voice, a big smile on his face. Neville thought the headmaster looked rather pleased.

'To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!' And with that, he sat down.

As people laughed and clapped those fine words, Neville just looked thoughtfully at the Ravenclaw table, seeking out Luna Lovegood.

_She's a little strange, but I've met her. And she doesn't seem the type that would rebuff a friendship. Perhaps I can buy a Quibbler, and discuss it with her? And I'll meet her friends, get acquainted._

Trevor croaked. Neville blinked, then the heavenly smell of the food hit him, and he forgot all thoughts as he dug into the magnificent feast.

**------------- ------------- -------------**

Luna sat at the Ravenclaw table surrounded by her fourth year peers who were chattering amongst themselves happily and digging into the last vestiges of the welcoming feast. She smiled contentedly as she helped herself to the chocolate ice cream, determined to enjoy the dessert.

Hogwarts made her feel complete, somehow. At ease… peaceful.

Dumbledore spoke. 'Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices.' He paused a moment, sending swift looks throughout the great hall.

'First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too. . .' Luna stared at Dumbledore, examining his attire. He wore heavy deep purple velvet dress robes with silver stars and moons embroidered throughout that glittered entrancingly, reflecting the starlight shimmering down on them all from the enchanted ceiling.

Luna wondered vaguely how her father would look wearing robes like that, balding slightly, with a rather large waistline. She chuckled quietly at the thought, earning her a swift, disapproving gaze from Athene Teirnan, a fellow fourth year Ravenclaw.

Luna quickly gazed down at her food avoiding Athene's icy blue eyes, making an effort to sidestep any confrontations. It was far too early in the school year yet for anything unpleasant to happen, and she was determined to enjoy her return to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was still speaking. 'We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!'

There was polite, scattered applause up and down the Ravenclaw table, most students of whom seemed rather relieved by the replacement Care of Magical Creatures teacher. However, Luna's eyes scanned the high table purposefully.

She found herself astounded that she hadn't spotted the new teacher earlier- her attire was dreadful. She was wearing a frightfully bright pink cardigan, and her white skirt was obviously too tight. Luna squirmed uncomfortably, inwardly shuddering. Suddenly, the thought of eating made her feel faintly ill. She frowned in consternation and pushed her plate away.

Dumbledore continued, 'Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the – '

At this point he stopped. Luna looked up curiously too see his staring in a surprised manner to the side. She looked over, and saw the new teacher had stood.

_I could probably get an article written about her_, Luna mused to herself.

'Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of wisdom.' Luna's frown deepened in puzzlement. The girly, high-pitched and simpering voice that had come from the professor was unusual and uncharacteristic of a woman of her rather toad-like stature . . . how strange. Indeed, Professor Umbridge resembled something similar to an overgrown fat amphibian with a large, stretched mouth, and a pair of small and widely spaced eyes.

Perhaps, similar to stories of princes turned to toads, she was the opposite - a toad turned, most unfortunately, into a fairly repulsive woman. Luna smiled at the thought.

'Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!'

Luna's grin slid off her face, to be replaced by a small frown. _Happy little faces?_

Glancing around her table, she noticed that even Athene seemed to be annoyed at this woman's address, despite the fact that she was a professor- a figure, according to Athene, to be respected and revered.

_Umbridge_ . . . Luna thought to herself. . . . _Where have I heard that name before?_ . . .

For the third time that day, Luna found herself dismayed, her memory being slow to cooperate.

Professor Umbridge continued, ignoring the looks of irritation and disbelief on the student's faces. 'I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!'

'The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance . . .'

Luna frowned at Professor Umbridge once again. So she was from the Ministry of Magic. Her father had always been suspicious about the Ministry. Indeed, he had run through with Luna many times over dinner that holiday a series of conspiracy theories he and his fellow writers and researchers at _The Quibbler_ had come up with, including plots to take over the entire muggle world. Apparently Cornelius Fudge was a power hungry vampire, and those who served him faithfully were his enchanted vampiric underlings. Maybe Umbridge was among one of them, and wanted disciples at Hogwarts?

Luna shook her head. _Dumbledore would have seen right through her._

Luna decided that at this stage, if that was all that this new professor wanted to say, then her time would be spent better mulling over better things, like developing new schemes for catching a Crumple-Horned Snorkak with her father.

Luna resolutely reached inside her robes, and took out _The Quibbler_, and only looked up again when Dumbledore's voice cut neatly through her thoughts.

'Off to bed!' he said, and then the hall was filled with the sound chairs scraping against the stone floor.

Luna stood up quickly and pushed back her own chair, peering around the other fourth year Ravenclaws.

Athene and Edith Kwan, both standing near Luna, were arguing heatedly. Athene seemed to be rather agitated, her cheeks flushed red while Edith remained outwardly calm, her brown eyes watching Athene's face carefully. Edith pushed back her dark hair and began speaking slowly, as though she was explaining something that should have been obvious.

Luna moved closer to the pair.

Edith seemed resolute in her beliefs, 'The Ministry is clearly trying to interfere with Hogwarts . . . Professor Umbridge is most likely present not for the purpose of being the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, but rather to monitor the other professors, and report to the ministry! It fits. The first thing she does when she gets here had nothing to do with the neither the subject nor teaching. She approached students _asking for their help!_ My parents have told me about her. She's a force not to be reckoned with lightly- power hungry while at the same time, not overly moral. Not a safe combination.'

'That's beside the point. She's a _professor,_ now. She asked for our help! We _must _oblige.' Retorted Athene loudly, earning a few curious gazes from people around her. She had the decency to blush slightly, and then lowered her voice. '_I _don't care what you decide to do, but _I'm_ going to do what is right. I'm helping her.'

Luna didn't hear Edith's reply, as she'd spotted Tegwen Wiston and Elvina Nolan walking toward her. She smiled and waved at them both, but only Tegwen grinned back.

'Hi, Luna!' She said, 'how was your summer?'

Luna fell into step beside Tegwen. 'Oh, it was quite enjoyable. . . How was yours?'

Tegwen smiled quickly, 'Our family went on a holiday to Australia! We saw a lot of their native magical creatures. It was amazing, Ares got stung by a Billywig, and our tour guides had to float him back into the de-hovering center where they dosed him up with potions to bring him back to the ground again. Turned out he was allergic to them.' She grinned wickedly, relishing her brother's embarrassment. 'It was _great_ to watch. He was hovering all out of control until the guides took over. I'm never going to let him forget it!'

Behind her, Ares scowled in annoyance at his sister, but upon seeing Luna, his face changed to a good-natured smile as he fell into step on the other side of Luna. 'Hi there Luna. Since I see my dear, _dear _sister has been filling you in about our holiday adventures, I'll be _more_ than happy to tell you other things that happened. For example when Tegwen - '

'Oh, no you don't, Ares!' Tegwen cut in quickly.

'Maybe later, then.' He winked at Luna and then returned to his friends' side.

Soon the group of fourth years approached the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower, a statue of a knight with a bronze eagle over his crest. Tegwen opened up the secret doorway with the word '_capacitor,'_ and they followed her into the common room.

The smell of fresh grass, and parchment lingered in the air. The stack of spare parchment near the entrance had apparently been replenished by the house elves, in anticipation of the students' return.

Luna smiled. It was good to be back.

They climbed the stairs on the left side of the common room together, up towards the fourth year dormitories.

**------------- ------------- -------------**

Neville pushed open the door to the common room, and was inexplicably relieved to find it unchanged, the same rugged, cozy, cheerful room with its warming hearth. It was like a second home, a home outside of home. Neville peered around carefully while clutching his plant protectively. A few people were warming up near the crackling fire, others lounging on the tumble-down spongy armchairs, or leaning against the shiny, albeit creaky, tables.

Neville saw Harry heading towards the door to the boys' dormitories. Neville decided to follow him, but first passed by the hearth to soak in a little warmth. He passed close enough to feel the heat, yet to the side so as to spare his plant from the bite of stinging flame; he was sure it would do something if it felt too much heat. He remembered the great hall, where it shot out metallic Stinksap in danger of lightning. It must have a defensive ability to modify Stinksap to do various things. The last thing he wanted was people covered in a variation of Stinksap, and worst of all, a hearth with no fire.

Neville eyebrows wrinkled in consternation. Neville resolved to show the plant to Professor Sprout as soon as he could. For the time being, all he could was stroke his _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_, and hope he was caring for it correctly.

He followed Harry into dormitory and headed towards his bed. He noticed Dean and Seamus pinning up posters upon the wall around their beds.

'Hi,' said Harry, and Neville echoed him.

Dean pulled on a pair of one of those bright muggle pyjamas. 'Hi Harry. Good Holiday?'

'Not bad,' replied Harry, slightly peevishly, 'You?'

Neville made his way over to his own bed, and shifted some of the clutter on his bedside cabinet to make room for his plant.

Dean laughed lightly. 'Yeah, it was okay. Better than Seamus' anyway, he was just telling me.'

Neville perked up his ears. 'Why, what happened, Seamus?' he inquired, then turned his attention to placing the plant carefully on the wooden surface. A long silence ensued. Neville carefully made ensured that the table was steady and that the plant was securely in place. He then turned around to see what had caused so much silence. Seamus was still fussing over his quidditch poster.

Seamus stepped back with satisfaction, then shrugged slowly.

'Me mam didn't want me to come back.' He said.

Neville gaped at him.

Harry went still with surprise too.

'What?' Harry asked.

'She didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts,' said Seamus neutrally. He turned around and started to change.

Neville closed his mouth with a snap, then started to change too. He felt his pocket for Trevor absentmindedly, at a loss as to why Seamus' mother would not want him to come back to Hogwarts. He thought of the dangers they'd faced over the past few years. Neville opened his mouth to ask the reason for his mother's reluctance, but Harry beat him to it.

'But – why?'

Once again, Seamus paused in his reply, then spoke in a neutral tone. 'Well, I suppose… because of you.'

_It _is _the dangers we face? Or rather, the dangers Harry has had to face? His mum probably thinks Seamus is in danger if he stays around Harry _Neville concluded.

'What d'you mean?' said Harry.

'Well, she… er… well, it's not just you, it's Dumbledore, too…'

Harry looked at him incredulously. 'She believes the Daily Prophet? She thinks I'm a liar and Dumbledore's an old fool?'

Seamus finally raised his eyes. 'Yeah, something like that.'

Neville's mouth fell open again with stupor and indignation.

_His mum believes the Daily Prophet over Harry and Dumbledore? But, how can she not remember what he's done in the previous years? Seamus must surely have told her what he was like! Oh dear, grandma was right, some people are going to actually believe that newspaper. I'm surprised at Seamus' mum though, I liked her, she seemed a reasonable person._

Neville looked to see how his friend was handling it. Harry was clearly furious.

Neville's heart sank with sympathy. To have gone through an attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and then to have witnessed a friend being killed, and then on top of that, to have the world not believe the warnings of danger . . .

As Harry climbed into the bed, Neville took off his shoes and pulled on his pajamas, and resolved to assure Harry that gran and him believed in Harry completely.

Just before Harry could pull the hangings closed, Seamus spoke up again.

'Look… what _did _happen that night when… you know, when… with Cedric Diggory and all?' he said uneasily.

Harry looked at him with disdain. 'What are you asking me for? Just read the _Daily Prophet _like your mother, why don't you? That'll tell you all you need to know.'

'Don't you have a go at my mother,' Seamus snapped.

Neville gulped, feeling uncomfortable in the sudden violent tension in the air. He turned around, patted his Mimbulus Mimbletonia soothingly, and set up his blankets.

Harry snorted. 'I'll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar.'

'Don't talk to me like that!'

Harry was clearly getting furious at Seamus. So much so, he picked up his wand. Neville wondered for a second if he should call a prefect or a teacher.

'I'll talk to you how I want. If you've got a problem sharing a dormitory with me, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved . . . stop your mummy worrying-'

Seamus seemed equally furious by now. 'Leave my mother out of this, Potter!'

'What's going on?' queried a neutral voice from the doorway.

Neville's head whipped around to look for the person who suddenly interrupted. It was Ron. His eyes widened as he looked at Harry and Seamus, both of whom seemed almost ready to fight.

'He's having a go at my mother!' Seamus yelled. Neville thought he was looking slightly pale.

'What? Harry wouldn't do that – we met your mother, we liked her…'

Harry shouted into the silence. 'That's before she started believing every word the stinking _Daily Prophet _writes about me!'

Neville nodded with disbelief, although Ron was too busy trying to figure everything out to notice him. As the facts sunk into Ron, his face cleared of confusion, and he nodded with comprehension. 'Oh. Oh…right.'

Seamus glared daggers at Harry, his face growing paler by the second.

'You know what?' He said, 'He's right, I don't want to share a dormitory with him any more, he's mad.'

'That's out of order, Seamus,' snapped Ron. Neville noticed Ron started to grow red.

Neville saw Seamus channel his anger into words, his face flushed. 'Out of order, am I? You believe all the rubbish he's come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he's telling the truth?'

'Yeah, I do!' replied Ron. To Neville he looked torn between disbelief and anger.

Seamus, in turn, looked at him with incredulity and disgust. 'Then you're mad, too.'

'Yeah? Well, unfortunately for you, pal, I'm also a prefect!' said Ron, and thumbed himself on the chest. 'So unless you want a detention, watch your mouth!'

Seamus glared at him for a few seconds then snorted with contempt. He jumped into bed, and flung the hangings shut, pushing his anger into the curtains. The curtains ripped from the bed and fell in a heap on the floor.

Ron turned his face to glare at Dean and Neville. 'Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry?'

Dean shrugged. 'My parents are Muggles, mate. They don't know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I'm not stupid enough to tell them.'

'You don't know my mother, she'd weasel anything out of anyone!' snapped Seamus. 'Anyway, your parents don't get the _Daily Prophet. _They don't know our Headmaster's been sacked from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he's losing his marbles-'

An outraged Neville interrupted him. 'My gran says that's rubbish. She says it's the _Daily Prophet_ that's going downhill, not Dumbledore. She's cancelled our subscription. We believe Harry.'

At that, he decided to get in bed and sleep. The rest of them could sleep their angers off.

_They'll be fine tomorrow,_ he thought.

Neville climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, then looked at Seamus.

'My gran's always said You-Know-Who would come back one day. She says if Dumbledore says he's back, he's back.'

With that, he turned his gaze onto his Mimbletonia, and slowly fell asleep.

**------------- ------------- -------------**

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. We've had a busy 2 weeks. University interviews and exams etc. It was _terrible!_ But here it is! We hope you like the third chapter. Now that we have holidays, we might begin to write more often. Please let us know what you liked and what you didn't, what you'd like to see and what you don't want to see. :-)**

**- Fiery & Sorrow**


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